As the situation continues to deteriorate in Gaza there is a great need for better maps of the crisis situation for use by relief agencies and other people on the ground. One of the initiatives towards disseminating of information is OpenStreetMap (OSM). This project that aims to create a free editable map of the world using GPS devices, aerial photography and other free sources, has started collating information. They are looking for people familiar with Gaza’s street names, features etc. to enhance the bare geometries of the current OSM map. If you know the area or have contacts in the region please get in contact with OSM which is using a wiki to co-ordinate the work.

Several U.N. agencies are also providing information. UN OCHA Occupied Palestinian Territory (UNOCHA oPt) are in addition to the production of humanitarian situation reports supplementing them with overview maps.

UNOSAT also has created and continues to update a Gaza crisis map which depicts the reported attack by Israeli and Hamas forces (25 Dec 2008 – 5 Jan 1008).

The New York Times has also created a map which includes timelines of the latest attacks by Israeli air forces and Hamas.

1 Response to Gaza mapping initiatives

After reading Mark Joyner’s ‘How to End the Israeli/Palestinian Conflict’ blog post I decided to create a global petition to rally support for his plan. Mark’s plan decidedly avoids pointing fingers at anyone – it only asks for 3rd party intervention to provide security for all of the innocent civilians in Gaza, the West Bank, and the surrounding Israeli towns – the vast majority of whom simply want to be left alone to live in peace. Please, sign our petition now!